Category: Network News

Are you an academic that is developing a game for your research, or a teacher that is working on a new classroom resource? Then perhaps the Games Research Network can help.

As a group of academics who research games and gaming, we can help you to playtest and develop your games for research or teaching purposes. We are also keen gamers with several decades of gaming experience and have worked with other researchers and teachers in helping them to develop their games.read more

On the 21st June, the Games Research Network hosted its first annual symposium, Multiplatform 2017, in Manchester. We were joined by academics from universities across the UK, and beyond, to discuss research into games and gaming, in both the digital and analogue formats. The symposium began with a Key Note address from Professor Paul Booth, who joined us from DePaul University, Chicago, and included presentations on the lack of research into modern tabletop games, the role of games as a paratext, and a consideration of the ethics of gameplay.read more

Board games are currently enjoying something of a renaissance. Sales of board games continue to rise globally (over 20% since 2009 [1]), gaming communities are growing and flourishing, and games design and production values are at an all-time high. Whilst the sales figures for board games might be dwarfed by those for the video games industry (in 2015, the UK video games industry was worth nearly £4.2bn, up 7.4% from £3.94bn in 2014), there is clearly a significant increase in the popularity of board games, not only in terms of the amount of units that have been sold, but also in terms of the number, and the demographic, of the people playing them. This increase in popularity, and an increasing mainstream acceptance of gaming culture, has resulted in a dramatic increase in coverage across the popular press and media, with The Guardian recently announcing a new monthly column, The boarder’s hoard, dedicated to reviewing the latest board games on the market. With even Vice running an article on the rise of board games, and popular celebrities such as Wil Wheaton running extremely successful YouTube channels dedicated to their favourite games, does this mean that board games are suddenly cool and that being a gamer is now something to be celebrated? As well as their newly celebrated social status, It would appear that gamers, or at least gamers that go on to create their own board games are also getting rich, with Kickstarter funds for board games now exceeding £41 million in total sales. All of this seems in stark contrast to this 2015 Telegraph article, pronouncing the death of card and board games.read more

The Games Research Network (GRN) conducts research into games and gaming. Our focus is on both digital and analogue platforms, and the intersection between the two.

Our blog also includes details about relevant external events and seminars on the topics of games and gaming and we invite organisers to contact us with details of forthcoming events.